way through the streets, thronged with homeless women and children, the
pavements blocked up by the rebels, who had ridden their horses in every
imaginable way to hinder the course of the fugitives. The streets were
filled with smoke and flame, and almost impassable. After we had reached a
temporary shelter, my wife returned to the scene of destruction, as a bird
to its nest, and on her way was stopped before a burning house, in which a
corpse was lying, and a little child at the point of death. The dead
woman was gotten out with difficulty, and buried in the garden without
shroud or coffin, and the child was barely rescued and placed in her arms,
when an officer in front of the house called out to his men: 'Boys,
remember Hunter!' She ran up to him, uncovered the child, and said: 'Here
is a dying baby we have saved from the house you have fired. Is your
revenge sweet?' Shocked, the fellow burst into tears, and answered, 'No,
madam.' He followed her some distance, and leaning down, asked her
earnestly, 'Madam, can't I save something for you?' Her answer was, 'No,
it is too late: I have lost all!' Warned to leave the house in which we
had taken refuge, a party of us left, but soon became separated, and I
lost my little boy, aged about ten, and did not find him till the next
day, at Shippensburg, whither he had walked, a distance of eleven miles.
The rest of us kept upon the edge of the burning town, and for three or
four hours watched the progress of the flames.
"One of the saddest sights I witnessed was the burning of the old Academy.
I watched it burn, timber by timber. Fifteen years of associations as
scholar and teacher were annihilated in the course of one short hour. My
attention was then drawn to the flag-staff in the centre of the public
square, and we all, of our party as well as others, expressed an ardent
hope that it might stand, from which the American flag might wave, even
over the ruins of the town. At noon we returned to the uninjured house of
a friend, and spent the night in gazing upon the ruins of our once happy
and beautiful town.
"The conduct of the rebel soldiery was barbarous in the extreme, though
there were many honorable exceptions. Bundles were tired upon women's
backs; ladies were forced to carry back into the houses articles of
clothing they had saved from the flames; drunken wretches danced upon the
furniture and articles of value and ornament; women's persons were
searched in the most indecent manner; oaths and foul language abounded;
aged women were locked in their rooms while their houses were on fire;
trunks were rifled after being dragged by the owners from the ruins;
promises of protection were made to be instantly broken. Everything was
done to add to the terror and confusion of the panic-stricken women and
children. Soon the hunger of the little ones added new horror to the
scene. Families were separated, and distracted fathers and mothers could
be seen everywhere, seeking amid the confusion for those that were
missing. And yet no selfishness was apparent; every one was willing to aid
and sympathize with his neighbor. No one complained, no one lost hope. A
rebel officer stopped me, saying: 'Sir, cannot a little money be raised to
satisfy that brute, McCausland; a very little money would save this end of
the town.' My answer was: 'If ten cents would do it, it would not be
forthcoming.' One rebel came running towards me, wringing his hands,
saying, 'Horrible, horrible! I did not think it could be so bad as this!'
Another told me that they had received orders, before they entered the
town, _to burn every house in it_; and yet another informed me that their
object was to effect an entrance during the night, and then burn it. In
some cases the women attempted to extinguish the fire, and were prevented
by threats and personal violence. Some were thrust from their houses,
others were struck, and in some instances pistols were drawn upon them.
One lady had a bucket of water, which she had brought to extinguish the
fire, thrown in her face. In almost every case the sick and the infirm
were _hindered_ from leaving their homes. There appeared to be a desire to
have some burned, if possible, _by accident_! One rebel, who helped a lady
to save some of her clothing, was seen led out of the town handcuffed. An
officer who suffered himself to be persuaded to save some property, said,
as he left the house he refused to fire, 'Madam, you have saved your
house, but have cost me my commission, and perhaps my life.' A negro saved
his life by dressing himself in woman's clothes, and carrying on his head
a feather bed, thereby hiding his face and hands. Little children cried to
'go home'--the home that was destroyed; old men wept over the town in
which they had lived for three-quarters of a century; citizens looked on
with dismay upon the destruction of their life-long labor and industry.
Many fled to the cemetery for refuge, and there, in the midst of death,
was one little life added to the wretched throng. The words of our
Saviour, with regard to the destruction of Jerusalem, were forced upon us:
'Let him which is on the house-top not come down to take anything out of
his house; neither let him which is in the field return back to take his
clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck
in those days!'
"The town soon became one mass of smoke and flame, which ascended straight
up to heaven, as if to call down the vengeance of God upon the
incendiaries. Here and there whirlwinds went up like gigantic corkscrews,
carrying paper and clothing high into the air, and miles into the
surrounding country, as if to bear witness of the foul outrage. I saw
more than one rebel soldier weeping like a child over the desolation he
had made. Hardened as they were to the horrors of war, this was too
terrible even for them to bear. One cried out to me in an agony of
remorse: 'Oh, I never enlisted for this!'
"For miles around, the frightened inhabitants fled, they knew not whither;
some continuing their flight until they dropped to the ground with
exhaustion. Pocket-books and watches were taken by wholesale; bundles,
shawls and valises were snatched out of women's and children's hands to be
thrown away. Cows and dogs and cats were burned to death, and the
death-cries of the poor dumb brutes sounded like the groans of human
beings. It is a picture that may be misrepresented, but cannot be
heightened. One young girl was crying; but, meeting a squad of the
marauders she controlled her tears, saying: '_They_ shan't see me cry!'
Full grown men, forgetful of themselves, sobbed over the destitution of
those they loved, and self-sacrificing women strove to comfort those of
weaker hearts, who had lost no more than themselves. We know of instances
where persons had saved money and valuables of others, with which they
had, in the excitement, been entrusted, to the exclusion of their own. In
the midst of this awful scene, the _sympathy_ and _encouragement_ we had
all along received from our loyal friends of a sister State, through the
columns of the Tribune, Times and Independent, arose before us like a
dense cloud, and, for the time, we hesitated which was most our
enemy,--New York or Virginia. Five hundred of the enemy in our streets,
two hundred as guard outside, three thousand within supporting distance;
this, too, with more than two thousand effective _United States_ cavalry
only _nine_ miles off, for hours. Oh, for one-half of the brave Franklin
County boys, that were then far away from their homes, fighting the
battles of the Union! We blame no one. Our loyalty, as strong as ever,
forbids us; but there is an awful responsibility SOMEWHERE.
"One scoundrel accepted five dollars from a frightened female, to carry
her trunk to a place of safety, _where he coolly broke it open, and helped
himself to the most valuable part of the contents_. A little dead child
was enclosed in a chest, and buried by the terrified parents in their
garden, for fear it would be burned in their house.
"A lady in delicate health was watched by one of the robbers, and allowed
to drag her trunk outside of the town; after which he searched it, and
appropriated the valuables it contained. She asked, whether that was
Southern chivalry, and received for reply: "Take that back, or I'll blow
your brains out." She did _not_ retract, and did _not_ have her brains
blown out. It was sad to see ladies escaping from their houses with
nothing but a few photographs or an album.
"In the evening of that dreadful day, it was overpowering to witness the
change in circumstances. One of our prominent citizens went with his
family to the house of his hostler; another to the residence of his negro
servant. On the next day it was a still more sorrowful sight to see
refined ladies flock to the church to draw Government rations, and receive
articles of second-hand clothing, sent up by the spontaneous charity of
persons residing along the line of the Cumberland Valley Railroad. It was
hard to eat the bitter bread of charity, but this mortification was borne
with the same heroism with which they looked upon the sacking and burning
of the dear old town. To see the grey-haired men and women, the
middle-aged, the youthful, and childhood, all represented in the destitute
but uncomplaining throng, was one of the most solemn sights the world ever
saw. Wyoming and Chambersburg will live in the history of Pennsylvania,
and the infamous names of Butler and McCausland, will be handed down to
posterity, as the types of savage barbarity.
"At 2 P. M., the Union forces advanced through the town. The citizens
cheered the dusty and jaded warriors, but no soldierly huzzas came from
_their_ parched and suffocated throats, as they rode through smoke and
flame and the intense heat of the smouldering ruins. One repeated
exclamation of, 'My God!' was all that was heard, and then, as they passed
the flag-staff, each one shouted, 'Remember Chambersburg!' And so they
exclaimed, and so they shouted, as they dashed at a trot through the town.
I may live to be an old man, but never, never shall I see such sights
again, as I saw that day in the stricken town of Chambersburg.
J. K. SHRYOCK."
Aug. 6, 1864.
BUILDINGS BURNED.
The following is a correct list of the buildings burned by the rebels in
Chambersburg, with their estimated value by a committee of disinterested
gentlemen appointed for that purpose:
South side of Market Street.
Jacob Wolfkill--Two-story frame and brick building, $700
Patrick Campbell's heirs--Two-story brick building, 700
Peter McGaffigan--Two-story building, 600
James C. Austin--Two-story brick building, new, 5,000
R. Austin--Two-story brick building, 3,000
William H. McDowell--Two-story stone front and brick back
building, brick stable, 3,000
James M. Brown--Two-story stone front and brick back building,
stable, 3,300
Jacob Sellers--Two-story brick front and back building, stables,
and ice-house, (hotel,) 4,000
J. W. Douglas--One-story frame building, 600
Martin Brown--Frame front and log building, 1,000
J. A. and J. C. Eyster--Log front and back building, 1,000
Mrs. Jordan--Two-story brick front and back building, 5,000
L. S. Clark--Two-story frame building and stable, 1,200
C. M. Duncan--Two-story building, law-office, stable, 2,000
E. Culbertson--Two-story brick building, office, stone barn, 6,000
Mrs. Bard--Two-story brick building, and row of law offices, 6,500
Gehr & Denny--Two three-story brick buildings, and one two-story,
(dwellings and "Franklin Repository" office,) 5,500
C. M. Duncan--Three-story building, (Franklin Hotel,) three-story
brick arcade, brick stables, &c., 15,000
Aug. Duncan--Three-story brick building, 1,500
Henry Monks--Three-story brick building, 1,500
Edward Aughinbaugh--Three-story brick building, 1,500
Dr. William H. Boyle--Three-story brick building, 2,000
Mary Gillan--Three-story brick building, 1,500
T. J. Wright--Three-story brick building, 1,800
S. F. Greenawalt--Two-story brick building, stable, 3,000
A. H. McCulloh--Two-story brick building, stone stable, 2,000
Rev. Mr. Nelson--Two-story building, stable, 2,000
J. P. Culbertson--Three brick buildings, 5,000
Mrs. Riddle--Two-story brick building, stable, 3,500
E. Finfrock--Two-story building, stable, 2,000
W. F. Eyster & Bro.--Two buildings, (foundry,) stable, 4,000
R. E. Tolbert--Two-story brick building, stable, 2,000
M. Gillan's heirs--Two three-story brick buildings, log house,
brick stable, 6,000
Alex. Fritz--Two-story brick building, 1,000
Mrs. Frederick Smith--Two-story brick building, 1,200
J. Burkholder's heirs--Two-story brick building, barn, 2,000
Hunter Robison--Two-story brick building, stable, 1,200
Jacob B. Miller--Two-story brick building, 400
John Bigley--Three small dwellings, 500
Thomas Cook--Three wooden buildings, 600
N. Pierce--Two-story building, 1,000
Barnet Wolff--Two-story frame building, 600
J. M. Wolfkill--Two-story brick front and two back buildings, 2,500
Jacob Shafer--Two-story brick building, 1,000
Richard Woods--Two-story brick building, 800
John King--Two-story buildings, 400
Christ. Pisle--Two-story brick building, 500
Mrs. Elizabeth Stouffer--Two-story brick building, 1,800
A. Banker--Brick shop, house and barn, 2,000
Mrs. Butler--Two-story building and stable, 400
Mary Rapp--Two-story log building, 400
James Nill's heirs--Two-story brick front, 500
Josiah Allen--Two-story brick building, 1,000
North side of Market Street.
C. Stauth--Two two-story log buildings, $800
Samuel Brant--Two-story brick building, 800
John M. McDowell--Two two-story brick buildings, (hotel,)
barn, shop, etc., 3,500
D. Trostle--Two-story brick building, and brick barn, 1,500
Mrs. Radebaugh--Stone and frame barn, 800
Mrs. Jos. Chambers--Two-story brick building, stable, 5,500
G. W. Brewer--Two-story brick building, barn, 5,500
Mrs. Jacob Smith--Log stable, 100
John Miller--Two-story brick building, hotel, stables, shops, 8,000
J. B. Cook--Two-story stone and four two-story buildings,
bark-house, stable, etc., 5,000
C. W. Eyster--Two three-story brick flouring mills and two-story
brick dwelling, 15,000
Lambert & Huber--Four-story stone and frame paper-mill and
steam-house, 15,000
C. W. Eyster--Two-story brick building, stable, 3,000
S. M. Shillito--Two-story brick building, 1,500
James King--Two-story brick building, frame shop, 1,200
P. Brough--Three-story brick building, 3,000
John Noel--Three-story stone building, stable, 8,000
Court House--Three-story brick, 45,000
Engine-house--Two-story brick, 1,000
D. O. Gehr--Two-story brick building, and brick stable, 5,500
B. F. Nead--Two-story brick building, brick stable, 5,000
A. D. Caufman--Three-story brick building and stable, 4,000
Mrs. Goettman--Two-story brick building, brick stable, etc., 5,500
Peiffer's heirs--Two-story stone house, (old jail,) smith-shop,
frame shop, stable, 2,600
T. B. Kennedy--Large two-story brick building, etc., 8,000
Rev. B. S. Schneck--Two-story stone and brick building, 3,000
L. Humelshine--Two-story building, 600
S. Etter--Two-story brick building, 3,000
Dr. N. Schlosser--Two-story building, 1,000
S. Eckert--Two-story stone and brick building, 1,000
West side Main Street to Square.
Benj. Chambers--Two-story brick building, $5,000
W. G. Reed--Two-story brick building, stable, 5,000
Mrs. C. Snyder--Two-story brick building, 3,000
Allen Smith--Two-story brick building, stable, 1,600
C. Flack--Two-story building, stable, 1,000
J. Schofield--Two-story building, brick shop, stable, 1,600
M. P. Welsh--Two-story brick building, 2,500
C. Stouffer (machinist)--Two-story brick building, stable, 3,000
Geo. Chambers (residence)--Two-story brick building, stable, 7,000
G. Chambers (Female Seminary)--Three-story stone building, 5,000
G. Chambers--Two-story brick building, law office, &c., 2,000
A. J. Miller--Two-story stone building, &c., 4,500
James Watson--Two-story brick building, 4,500
R. Austin--Two-story brick building, 2,500
East side Main, from Square to King Street.
Franklin Hall--Three-story brick building, $20,000
Jacob Hoke & Co.--Two-story brick building, stable, 5,500
Dr. Langenheim--Two-story brick building, stable, 3,000
Widow Montgomery (hotel)--Three story brick building, stable, 9,000
Daniel Trostle (hotel)--Two-story brick and stone buildings,
sheds and stable, 7,000
Miss Susan B. Chambers--Brick shop, house and stable, 2,500
A. P. Frey--Two-story building, coachmaker-shed, shop, stable, 3,000
A. S. Hull--Two-story brick building, 2,000
Mrs. Geo. Goettman--Two-story building, shop, 1,200
West side Main, from Square to Washington Street.
Chambersburg Bank--Two-story brick building, stable, $8,000
Mrs. Gilmore--Two-story brick building and shops, 5,500
Jacob B. Miller--Two-story brick building, etc., 3,000
Dr. Richards--Two-story brick building, stable, 5,500
C. Burkhart--Three-story brick building, ice-house, stable, 4,500
J. M. Cooper--Three-story brick buildings, ("Valley Spirit"
office,) stone stable, etc., 15,000
James L. Black--Two-story brick building, stable, 5,000
Dr. J. Hamilton--Three-story brick building and stable, 7,000
John A. Grove--Frame shop, 250
Jacob Hutton--Three-story brick and two brick back buildings, 4,500
John McClintock--Two-story brick building, shop, etc., 3,500
Lewis Shoemaker--Two-story brick building, etc., 4,200
Samuel Greenawalt--Two-story brick buildings, 5,500
J. Allison Eyster--Two-story brick building, 5,000
J. Allison Eyster--Two-story brick building, 1,500
J. Allison Eyster--Three-story brick buildings, brick stable, 5,000
Wm. Heyser's heirs--Two story brick buildings, brick stable, 5,500
Rev. S. R. Fisher--Brick stable, 500
Geo. Lehner--Log stable, 400
George Ludwig--Two-story brick front and five back buildings, 7,000
C. F. Miller--Two-story brick building, &c., 4,500
Adam Wolff--Two-story frame and brick building, 1,200
John Forbes--Two-story building, &c., 2,000
John Dittman--Two-story brick building, 2,000
J. Deckelmayer--Two-story brick building and bakery, 3,000
Samuel Ott--Two two-story brick buildings, 4,000
B. Radebaugh--One-story frame shop, 150
Samuel Ott--One-story frame shop, 200
B. Radebaugh--Two-story brick front building, 600
East side Main, from Washington to Square.
F. Spahr--Two-story brick building, $2,500
Miss Hetrick--Two-story brick building, 1,500
John A. Lemaster--Two-story brick building, 2,500
Aug. Reineman--Two-story brick building, 1,500
Samuel M. Perry--Two-story brick front and back building, 2,000
David L. Taylor--Two-story log (weather-boarded) front and
frame back buildings, 1,500
J. W. Taylor--Two-story brick building, stable, hay scales,
(hotel), 7,000
George Ludwig--Two-story brick building, tin-shop, stable, 4,000
H. H. Hutz--Two-story brick building, stable, 6,500
D. Reisher--Two-and-a-half story brick building, bake-house,
stable, 4,500
M. Kuss--Two-story brick building, stone stable, 2,500
I. Hutton--Two-story brick building, brick shop, stable, 4,000
John P. Culbertson--One-story frame shops, 800
Dr. J. Lambert--Two-story brick building, stable, 5,500
Mrs. R. Fisher--Two-story brick front building, 5,000
William Wallace (hotel)--Three-story brick building, 9,000
D. Reisher--Two-story brick buildings, stable, 6,000
J. A. Eyster (Nixon's drugstore)--Two-story brick building,
&c., 4,500
James Eyster--Two-story brick building, brick stable, 4,500
Eyster & Bro.--Two-story stone and brick building, 5,500
Eyster & Bro.--Three-story brick warehouse, stable, 10,000
Brand & Flack--Two-story stone and brick building, warehouse, 6,500
A. J. White--Two-story stone and brick building, 4,500
Hiram White--Three-story brick front, and back building,
(new), 7,500
John Jeffries--Two-story stone and brick building, &c., stable, 3,000
A. B. Hamilton--Two-story stone and brick buildings, stable, 6,000
Mansion House (German Reformed Publication House)--Three-story
brick front and back building, livery stable, &c., 10,000
Academy--Large three-story brick, 4,000
Queen--South Side.
J. W. Reges--Two-story brick building, $3,000
W. Cunningham--Two-story brick building and granary, 3,000
John Mull--Two-story brick front and back building, 2,000
J. T. Hoskinson--Two-story brick building, 2,200
Jacob Flinder--Two-story frame building, 800
Jacob Flinder--Two-story frame building, stable, 700
W. Wallace--Two-story brick building, spring-house, &c., 4,000
Mrs. John Lindsay--Two-story brick building, 2,500
Barnard Wolff--Two two-story brick buildings, warehouse,
shop, brick stable, &c., 7,500
J. Allison Eyster--Two-story brick building, 2,200
Mrs. Blood--Two-story brick and two back buildings, 1,800
Mrs. Clark--Two-story brick front and back building, 1,800
Mrs. R. Fisher--Two-story brick building, 2,000
Mrs. Sarah Stevenson--Two two-story brick buildings, 2,000
J. D. Grier--Two-story brick building, 4,500
Mrs. Susan Nixon--Two-story brick building, 1,800
Robert Davis--Two-story brick building, 2,000
John Cree--Two-story brick building, 2,500
Samuel Myers--Two-story brick front, two back buildings, 3,200
Mrs. Porter Thompson--Two-story log building, 600
Mrs. George S. Eyster--Two-story brick building, 2,500
Andrew Banker--Two-story log building and smoke-house, 1,500
Queen--North Side.
Huber & Co. (edge-tool factory)--Five brick and frame buildings, $3,500
Brick blacksmith shop, 600
"Bethel" (church)--brick, 3,000
G. Ludwig (brewery)--Two-story stone and brick building, &c., 8,000
Widow Grove (of William)--Two-story building, smoke-house, 1,500
Thos. Carlisle--Two-story brick, and one frame building, 3,000
Kindline's heirs--Two-story brick, two-story log and brick back
buildings, 4,000
Widow Grove (of Alex.)--Two-story building, stable, 1,200
John Huber--Two-story brick building, stable, 3,000
Abraham Huber--Two-story brick, and frame stable, 2,000
H. Sierer--Two-story building, wareroom, stable, &c., 3,000
Thos. Carlisle--Two-story brick front, and back buildings, 2,500
W. Wallace--Three three-story brick buildings, brick stable, 8,000
N. Snyder--Two-story brick building, wash-houses, stable, 2,500
Dr. S. D. Culbertson--Two-and-a-half-story brick building,
stable, 4,000
Mrs. Samuel Brand--roof slightly damaged.
J. P. Culbertson--Two-story brick building, stable, 4,500
Second Street.
P. Henry Peiffer--New two-story frame stable, $1,900
Associate Reformed Church--One-story brick building, 3,000
Benjamin Rhodes--Two-story log front and one-story brick back
building, 1,200
J. Allison Eyster--One-story log shop, 100
Charles Croft--Log building and frame kitchen, 800
J. P. Keefer--Two-story brick building and kitchen, 1,500
John Reasner--One-story log bakery, 150
J. S. Brown--Roof and upper floor (hotel) 500
John Doebler--Two-story brick building, 2,000
Holmes Crawford--Two-story brick building, 3,000
S. F. Armstrong--Two-story brick building, stable, 4,000
Aug. Reineman--Three one-story frame shops, &c., 1,000
Franklin.
Martin Cole--Two-story brick and log buildings, $1,500
Philip Evans--Two-story brick building, 1,200
Wolfstown.
Dr. A. H. Senseny--Two one-story log buildings, $200
N. Uglow--Three one-story log buildings, 250
Water.
George Kindline--Brick wagonmaker and blacksmith shop, brick
stable, $800
Alley.
Widow Palmer--Frame stable, $150
Nicholas Gerwig--Frame stable, 100
Henry Greenawalt--Brick stable, 300
King.
George Chambers--Three two-story brick buildings, $2,500
Upton Washabaugh--Two-story building, stone brewery, granary,
brick stables, and shed, 8,000
C. Herman--Stone shop, dwelling, and stable, 800
A. K. McClure--House and barn ("Norland"), 9,500
Jacob Eby--Large brick barn, 2,500
Andrew McElwaine--House, 400
Recapitulation.
The following is the aggregate of buildings burned:
Residences and places of business, $278
Barns and stables, 98
Out-buildings of various kinds, 173
----
Total buildings burned, 559